Clinton Township Newsletter

I N O UR Spruce Run School S SCHOOLS: The December "word of the month" at Spruce Run School is "generosity." Students at Spruce Run School were encouraged to show generosity and were provided with opportunities to be generous and help others, not only in their daily interactions with students and teachers, but also within larger communities as well. Service projects provided our students with opportunities to work together, learn to solve problems and make decisions that contributed to their community. Our students have had a variety of recent opportunities to engage in a service activity through donations to different organizations. Generosity In November, students were invited to participate in the CTEA's Operation Jersey Cares to donate food/personal items to our military personnel overseas. Students also had the opportunity to collect and donate food items to our local food pantry, the Open Cupboard Food Pantry, and to help those in need in our own community. Once again this month, students at Spruce Run joined the other Clinton Township School District schools in participating in the Camden Collections project to donate holiday items to children in need at a school in Camden, NJ. Families who participated in this project donated a new item wrapped by our students and parent volunteers, and gifts were delivered to the school in Camden. Spruce Run students collected coloring books and crayons. This was a wonderful opportunity for our students to learn the value of sharing with others! Thank you to our families and staff for all of your support in providing these wonderful learning opportunities for our Spruce Run students! P at r i c k M c g a h e r a n S c h o o l PMG Cultural Enrichment: Each year, through generous funding by the CTSD Parent Teacher Association and a grant from the Hunterdon County Clean Communities, students at PMG take part in a variety of performances to enhance the curriculum. This year, Mrs. Karen Smith, parent of a PMG student, and Mrs. Chelminiak, PMG's enrichment teacher, worked together to select shows that would be both engaging and educational. In October, students learned more about character education, recycling and the environment by watching an assembly program performed by "Professor Winklebottom" of the Grand Falloons. In December, The Franklin Institute will visit to share an assembly on the human body for third grade and on motion and machines for second grade. In January, we will welcome back Ball in the House, a cappella musical group. In April, we look forward to the return of David Gonzalez, an engaging story teller who will lead us through his assembly called Aesop's Bops. In June, students will have the opportunity to watch "Child's Play" in which students view performances based on their own writing. Original student stories are submitted, and two are transformed into plays. The students and staff thoroughly enjoy these performances and we are grateful to the PTA for their planning and funding. Round Valley School Winter Crops? Yes, here at Round Valley School we continue our gardening through the seasons. Students put forth great efforts to ready the soil for our winter wheat. We thank our 6th grade students and their teachers for their continued gardening efforts! School Violence Awareness Week: At Round Valley we work diligently to create a supportive environment that promotes respect for self, others and the environment. During Violence Awareness week, students took part in activities that raised awareness and offered strategies to deal with the prevention of violence and bullying behaviors. Students created posters and asked other students to pledge their support by signing, the posters are displayed in the hallways for all to see! All About Community: Creativity abounds with our students when it comes to writing and performing. Two performances took place during our All School Meeting for the entire school body. The messages for both were how to show respect. What a well received message! Let the Music Play: Get ready for a musical treat! The 5th and 6th graders will be performing at the Band and Strings Concert on Wednesday, December 18, 2013. Clinton Township Middle School The Clinton Township Middle School PTA hosted a program about weather concepts for the 7th graders. A real life scientist from the Franklin Institute entertained, awed, and instructed students with a fun science demonstration. The CTMS Law Adventurers are putting the finishing touches on our cases. We have three teams who will be entering the Law Adventure contest, which is sponsored by the New Jersey Bar Foundation. During School Violence Awareness Week, the staff at Clinton Township Middle School continued to develop a supportive empathetic environment that lessens school violence and bullying, by promoting an atmosphere of respect and civility daily. The expectation of reciprocal appropriate social behavior is of paramount importance everyday at CTMS. During this week there were activities geared towards the awareness and prevention of school violence and Please mark your calendars for bullying. upcoming Clinton Township Middle School Concerts. All concerts will Students at CTMS are working to take place in the CTMS Auditorium create projects for the Hunterdon and will start at 7:00 pm. County Freeholders 300 year anniversary timeline project. Entries December 12 - Clinton Township Middle School Choral Concert for the timeline will be featured on their website and on display for the TriDecember 17 - Clinton Township Centennial in 2014. Middle School Band Concert Third Grade Experience: Third graders at Patrick McGaheran School participated in an exciting field trip to Waterloo Village. Waterloo Village is an outdoor education center, where visitors can enter a wigwam or a longhouse like those inhabited by the original people of New Jersey. Students learned about the lifestyle of woodland LenapeDelaware American Indians. This program included a craft, games, interactive activities, storytelling and more. While there, students participated in many hands on experiences to help them connect with the Lenape. Students used recreated Lenape tools, such as monos and metates for grinding corn, and bear skins to sit on and more! These activities were designed to promote an understanding of how the Lenape used the world around them to survive, as well as to help students understand the ways in which we are similar to the Lenape. D e c e m b e r Relay for Life is back! On February 21, 2014, the CTMS will host a Mini-Relay at the school. If you are interested in forming a team, supporting us, or advertising, please contact the Enrichment Teacher, Diane Cormican at dcormican@ctsd.k12.nj.us for more details. 2 0 1 3 13

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